EC urged to play caretaker govt’s role

Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance on Sunday urged the Election Commission to act like a caretaker government paying heed to the demands of political parties to ensure proper atmosphere of election.A BNP-led alliance delegation, led by Liberal Democratic Party president Oli Ahmad, attending a meeting with election commissioner M Rafiqul Islam, also demanded immediate reshuffling in the civil filed administration to ensure neutrality in filed level ahead of the next general election rescheduled for December 30.Emerging from the meeting, Oli said the alliance demanded transfer of controversial field officers as they already build ‘deep relations’ with respective lawmakers and ministers.The delegation also urged the EC to take action against violators of electoral code of conduct saying that the ruling Awami League nomination aspirants had already started electioneering violating the code.They sought EC’s direct control over public television and radio stations, Oli said, adding that they also demanded that electronic voting machines be not used in next polls as people had no trust in it.Earlier on the day, BNP vice-chairman Hafizuddin Ahmed met with the chief election commissioner KM Nurul Huda on behalf of the party’s secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir to inform the CEC that the police were still arresting their leaders and activists across the country.After the meeting, he told reporters that the CEC was informed that police were making money out of these arrests.He urged the commission to take measures to stop police from such activities.He said that the CEC assured them of taking measures over the cases filed after the announcement of the election schedule.